Michael Gosse is the President of BISM, a local nonprofit whose mission is to empower the blind community by providing evolving employment, independence training, and manufacturing opportunities. Mike has been an active member of the blindness community for more than 30 years serving as an advocate and leader. He was appointed by Governor O’Malley to the BISM Board of Trustees in 2011 and became Chairman in 2017 before joining the staff the following year. Mike started his own engineering firm, Data Speech Computer Solutions, in 2003 initially to develop access technologies allowing the blind and print disabled timely access to newspapers, magazines and job postings. As a legally blind entrepreneur, he fought for the right of disabled Marylanders to participate in the Minority Business Enterprise program. Mike was raised in Connecticut, and graduated from University of Connecticut with a master’s in electrical engineering then went on to Lehigh University where he received his Doctorate of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering. He now lives in the Roland Park area of Baltimore City with his wife and 2 college aged daughters. He continues to be active in his community as a volunteer in support of the local elementary/middle school. Once a competitive triathlete, Mike is now a fitness advocate and can often been seen walking or jogging his neighborhood.